Engagement Poll

Design polls, questions, and interactive content that boosts engagement AND generates audience insight. A good poll does double duty: it feeds the algorithm AND feeds your understanding of the audience.

Purpose

Polls are the highest-RPM content type for engagement. They take the audience 2 seconds to interact with, tell the algorithm "people are engaging with this brand," and give you free market research. This skill designs polls that serve both purposes.

When to Use

• Weekly engagement-boost slot in the content calendar
• Audience research needed (validate ideas, measure preferences)
• Low-engagement period (poll resets algorithmic momentum)
• Before a product launch (gauge interest, segment audience)

Inputs Required

• Poll purpose (engagement boost, audience insight, or both)
• Target platform
• What you want to learn (the insight goal)
• Brand voice guide

Quick Reference

Procedure

1. Define dual purpose:
   • Primary: engagement boost (algorithm)
   • Secondary: audience insight (what do we learn?)
   • Every poll serves both, not just one
2. Choose platform and format:
   • X: native poll (4 options, 1 day duration)
   • LinkedIn: native poll (4 options, 1-2 weeks)
   • IG Stories: poll/question/slider stickers
   • TikTok: Q&A feature, comments-based
3. Write the poll question:
   • Genuinely interesting to audience (not just to you)
   • No leading questions
   • Specific (broad = generic answers)
   • 1-2 sentences of context + the poll
4. Write poll options:
   • 2 options: simple, high response rate
   • 3-4 options: nuanced, slightly lower response
   • All options equally valid (no obviously "right" answer)
5. Plan the follow-up:
   • Results post: share results + your analysis (48 hours after poll closes)
   • Tag or DM respondents with interesting takes

Output Format

# Poll: [Topic]

## Purpose
**Primary:** [Engagement boost / Algorithm reset]
**Secondary:** [What do you want to learn?]

## Platform: [X / LinkedIn / IG Stories / TikTok]

## Poll Content
**Question:** [Poll text]
**Options:**
1. [Option 1]
2. [Option 2]
3. [Option 3] (optional)
4. [Option 4] (optional)
**Duration:** [1 day / 3 days / 1 week]
**Supporting caption:** [Context]

## Follow-Up Plan
- **Results post:** [Date/time — 48h after poll closes]
- **Results angle:** [What insight emerged]
- **Engagement from results:** [Reply, tag interesting commenters]

Done Criteria

The skill is complete when:

1. Poll question is clear and specific
2. Options are equally valid (no correct answer)
3. Platform and format are matched
4. Follow-up results post is planned

Pitfalls

• Thinly veiled marketing polls ("Would you buy our product: Yes or Definitely Yes?")
• Questions the audience doesn't care about
• Never sharing results (waste of audience participation)
• More than 2 poll-style posts per week (fatigue)
• Binary polls where both options are basically the same

Verification

Would you vote on this if you saw it in your feed? Is the question genuinely interesting or just filler? Will the results change anything about how the brand operates? Is the follow-up results post planned?